Fit again Cheetahs utility forward Oupa Mohoje still has Bok ambitions

Fit again Cheetahs utility forward Oupa Mohoje has not yet given up on returning to the Springboks.

Progress for the 31-year-old Mohoje, who played the last of his 19 Bok matches against Wales in Washington in 2018, has been seriously disrupted by injuries over the past few seasons, but he has regained full fitness.

“The ambition of returning to the Springboks is still there and that’s what I am working for,” he said.

“ I don’t want to come back on the field and just play rugby because I am having fun. I want to play rugby to test my body to its limits and see where it’s going to go. The Springboks is the top spot and I am coming back for the top spot for sure.”

The season for the Cheetahs is over as they are out of the running for the play-offs in the Currie Cup and Mohoje is looking forward to the start of preseason.

“Over the past two to three years, I have struggled a lot with injuries. Every time I came back there was a niggle here or there and that was really frustrating. But now I am at a place where all my injuries have completely healed and my body feels good,” he said.

“The Cheetahs' season is over  so I want to get into preseason and work as hard as I can. If you work hard in preseason you put yourself in a good position to be better the following season.

“I can’t wait for preseason to start so t I can test my body to the fullest and when the season starts I am eligible for selection again and I do what I love, which is to play rugby.”

The Cheetahs were dropped from PRO14 last year and Mohoje said it is sad what happened to the franchise.

“It is sad with what has happened to the Cheetahs losing a spot in the Pro14. There is nothing much that we can do as players. Management is fighting for us and we have full trust in them.

“We have to display our gifts on the fields. , OF we don’t play attractive rugby, these things will happen. But if we play attractive rugby we present a different picture and I can’t wait for what is going to happen in the coming months for the Cheetahs.”

There have been rumours that Mohoje will leave Bloemfontein club, but he said is happy at the Cheetahs.

“Free State is home and I love it there. If I had to move to another franchise, it necessarily won’t be about the money but to experience a different environment. I have always been at the Cheetahs, so moving will be to see how other people do things and experience something different.”